The Yankees came into Atlanta having surrendered first place to the Toronto Blue Jays, missing its top home run hitter and run producer in Mark Teixeira and desperately struggling to score runs. They left having swept the Braves by a combined score of 38-11 in three games.

Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run home run and Chase Headley and Stephen Drew added two-run shots off right-hander Julio Teheran while Nathan Eovaldi rolled to his ninth straight victory as New York thrashed Atlanta at Turner Field on Sunday.

Drew, who collected four hits and Headley, who added three, each drove in four runs as the Yankees scored eight runs in 4 1/3 innings against Teheran (9-7).

When the Braves managed to rally for two runs in the third inning and three runs in the sixth against Eovaldi (14-2) to draw to within 8-5 and chase the 25-year-old right-hander from the game, the Yankees put together a nine-run seventh inning against left-hander Ross Detwiler, right-hander Peter Moylan and right-hander Jake Brigham to put the game out of reach.

Pinch-hitter Alex Rodriguez, Brian McCann and Headley each drove in two runs in the inning in which the Yankees sent 14 batters to the plate and pounded out nine hits.

The Yankees added three more runs off Brigham in the eighth inning, capped by an RBI double by rookie relief pitcher Branden Pinder.

Teheran, who entered the game with a 7-1 record and a 2.55 ERA at home this season, was charged with season-high tying eight runs on nine hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

The rookie right-hander Brigham, who was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, was charged with eight runs on nine hits and four walks with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings.

Eovaldi yielded five runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts to run his career-best winning streak to nine games spanning his past 13 starts. The nine-game winning streak is the best in Major League Baseball this season.

However, Eovaldi needed help from right-hander Adam Warren and Chasen Shreve to get out of the sixth inning. Pinder and right-hander Bryan Mitchell pitched the final three innings to preserve the victory.

Including the 1996 and 1999 World Series, the Yankees have now 17 of the 19 games they have played at Turner Field.

With the victory the Yankees improved to 72-57 and they remain 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Braves, who have now lost 12 of their past 13 games, are 54-76.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

Drew has been batting under .200 for most of the season after batting .162 last season. But he was 4-for-4 with a homer, three singles, two walks, three runs scored and four RBIs. The four-hit game raised his season average to .201.

Headley was 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, a single, two walks, three runs scored and four RBIs. Headley was 6-for-11 with a home run and seven RBIs in the three-game series. He raised his season average to .277. While most of the team has been struggling in August, Headley is batting .297 for the month.

After a prolonged slump at the plate, Ellsbury is showing signs of life. He was 2-for-6 with a homer, a single, a walk, two runs scored and three RBIs in the game. Since Aug. 13, Ellsbury is 24-for-69 (.348) with two homers and six RBIs and he has scored 10 runs. That has raised his season average from .260 to .278.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Eovaldi seems to get bogged down when he gets a big lead, which happens often since the Yankees provide him with more than seven runs a game. Even with a 7-0 lead he ended up allowing the Braves back into the game and left after giving up three straight hits to begin the sixth. He has to do better despite the fact he is 14-2.

BOMBER BANTER

With Teixeira still nursing a deep bone bruise on his right leg, manager Joe Girardi is having Rodriguez resume workouts at first base as a potential right-handed option along with rookie Greg Bird, who bats left-handed. Rodriguez has not played in the field since May 23, when he finished a game at first base.

ON DECK

The Yankees will open a three-game series with the last-place Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park starting on Monday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (5-6, 4.50 ERA) will start the series for the Yankees. Nova is coming off two straight losses and gave up seven runs in a loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

The hapless Red Flops will counter with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 4.39 ERA). Rodriguez gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings in a no-decision last Monday against the Kansas City Royals.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be telecast nationally by ESPN and locally by the YES Network.

With veteran left-hander CC Sabathia on the disabled list with recurring pain in his right knee the Yankees have had to place a lot a of trust in 21-year-old rookie right-hander Luis Severino. After seeing the way he pitched on Saturday at Turner Field it looks as if he is going to be just fine.

Severino pitched six innings of shutout baseball and Didi Gregorius and Brian McCann doubled in runs in the seventh and eight innings, respectively, as New York downed Atlanta for the second straight day.

Severino (2-2) held the Braves to four hits and three walks while he struck out five in six innings to earn his second straight victory.

Meanwhile, the Yankees opened the scoring on rookie right-hander Matt Wisler in the first inning.

Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a double and, two outs later, Wisler issued walks to McCann and Greg Bird. With Chase Headley at the plate behind on a 0-2 count, Wisler uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Ellsbury to score to give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.

Then Severino and Wisler matched zeroes for the rest of the evening until the seventh inning when Headley led off the frame with his third double of the series – a ball that center-fielder Cameron Maybin misjudged.

Gregorius, who drove in a career-high six runs in a 15-4 rout of the Braves on Friday, chased Wisler from the game with an RBI double into right-field to score Headley with what proved to be the game-winning run.

Wisler (5-5) was charged with two runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts in six-plus innings.

The Braves managed to halve the lead in the bottom of seventh when Christian Betancourt and Andrelton Simmons opened the inning against left-hander Justin Wilson with a pair of singles.

Pinch-hitter Michael Bourn then hit a ground ball to Bird at first. Bird retired Simmons on a throw to Gregorius at second, but Wilson dropped his relay to first base and Bethancourt scored on the error.

But the Yankees were able to add an insurance run in the eighth inning off right-hander Edwin Jackson when Carlos Beltran was issued a leadoff walk and McCann scored pinch-runner Chris Young with a booming double to the wall in right-center.

Right-hander Dellin Betances pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and left-hander Andrew Miller struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his 28th save in 29 chances this season.

With the victory the Yankees ran their season mark to 71-57 and they remain 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Braves dropped to 54-75.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

Severino was far from perfect in his six innings and faced three innings in which the Braves put two men on. However, his poise allowed him to get out of the first by getting Nick Swisher on an inning-ending double play. He ended the fourth by striking out Betancourt swinging and in the sixth he induced Jace Peterson into a groundout. In his five starts, Severino has a dazzling 2.17 ERA and he has 29 strikeouts in his 29 innings.

In his past three games, Gregorius is 7-for-13 (.539) with a homer and nine RBIs. The 25-year-old shortstop is simply settling in after perhaps pressing too much early knowing that he was replacing a legend in Derek Jeter.

McCann is providing offense at a time that Mark Teixeira is injured and Alex Rodriguez is only available to pinch-hit in the National League ballpark. His RBI double in the eight gives him a team-leading 80 RBIs this season. Teixeira has 79. In his two games back in Atlanta he is 2-for-5 (.400) with a homer, a double, four walks, three runs scored and five RBIs.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

After Severino left, the Braves jumped on Wilson and Betances for an unearned run, four hits and a walk in two innings. Fortunately, Betances was able to wriggle out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the seventh by retiring Freddie Freeman on a ground ball that Betances fielded by sticking his glove behind his back. Betances also ended a two-on, two-out threat in the eighth by striking out Simmons looking. The Braves stranded 10 runners. That is not good relief pitching really.

BOMBER BANTER

A man who fell from the upper deck of Turner Field in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game was pronounced dead later in the evening. The Braves announced that Gregory Murrey, 60, of Alpharetta, GA, was pronounced dead at Fulton County Medical Center. Murrey, a longtime Braves season-ticket holder, fell from the upper deck to the lower bowl behind home plate as Rodriguez was coming up to the plate with two on and one out in the seventh inning. Braves security personnel ruled out foul play but authorities are waiting an autopsy.

Former Major-League outfielder and Braves television analyst Joe Simpson said on FOX Sports South before Friday’s game that the New York Yankees had the worst batting average of all Major-League teams in the month of August so maybe the Atlanta Braves were catching their opponents at just the right time.

After Friday’s game at Turner Field it is fairly obvious that he was way off base.

Didi Gregarious hit a three-run home run and drove in a career-high six runs and Brian McCann returned to Atlanta for the first time since he left the team as a free agent after the 2013 season to a hit a three run homer of his own as New York pummeled Atlanta.

Gregorius’s seventh home run of the season capped a five-run first inning against right-hander Williams Perez (4-5) and all five runs scored after Perez had retired the first two batters he faced.

Chase Headley added a bases-loaded two-run double in the first inning for the Yankees, who added another four runs after two were out in the second inning to chase Perez after only 1 2/3 innings.

He left with the bases loaded and left-hander Ross Detwiler came in to face rookie Greg Bird and Headley. He walked both to force in runs and Gregorius followed with a two-run single to left.

Perez retired just five of the 13 batters he faced and he was charged with eight runs on five hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings as his ERA ballooned to 5.56.

Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (10-6) was the beneficiary of the nine runs in the first two innings as he rolled to victory after yielding three runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

McCann, who is a native Georgian and played with the Braves for nine seasons, capped his homecoming with a three-run homer as part of a four-run eighth off right-hander Andrew McKirahan. It was his 23rd home run of the season and he ended the night 1-for-2 with three walks, three runs scored, a sacrifice fly and four RBIs.

“It was great. I’ve been saying it all day,” McCann told reporters. “I was really excited to come back here and play in front of these fans. It meant a whole lot to me.”

The Braves used reserve outfielder Jonny Gomes to pitch the ninth inning and he was greeted by Chris Young’s 14th home run of the season. McCann added a two-out sacrifice fly that scored Jacoby Ellsbury to cap the scoring.

With the victory the Yankees improved to 70-57 and they remain 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Braves, who are just playing out the string of a miserable season, are now 54-74.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

Gregorius was 4-for-5 with a homer, three singles, a run scored and six RBIs. After hitting .206 and .232 in the first two months of season, Gregorius has gotten steadily better at the plate and he is also played spectacular defense after a shaky start. Gregorius has raised his season average to .260 and he has seven homers and 40 RBIs.

McCann is certainly comfortable at Turner Field and he showed his former team just what they have been missing the past two seasons. To show how much respect the fans have for him, most of the 35,546 in attendance cheered him when he was announced. McCann is batting .247 with 23 homers and 79 RBIs on the season. The 79 RBIs ties with injured first baseman Mark Teixeira for the team lead.

Headley ended his day 2-for-4 with two ground-rule doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs. Since the All-Star break Headley is batting a team-best .329 with two homers and 27 RBIs. He has raised his season average to .277 and he has 10 homers and 57 RBIs.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

With Teixiera hurt and designated hitter Alex Rodriguez unable to play in a National League ballpark it is refreshing for the Yankees to score 15 runs and pound out 16 hits. That takes a lot of pressure of the starting pitchers, who have had to pitch more carefully because the Yankees were not scoring runs. Let’s hope the August slump is finally over.

BOMBER BANTER

Teixeira, 35, is frustrated because the deep bone bruise on his right leg is not improving but he was assured on Friday that the bone is not fractured and it only requires more rest. Teixeira fouled a ball off his right leg on Aug. 17 and he was able to return to the lineup on Tuesday. However, he had to be removed from the game on Wednesday after not being able to run after he had pinch-hit.

When two of the top three home run hitting teams in baseball meet at Yankee Stadium with its inviting short right-field porch it only stands to reason that the game will be . . . a pitchers’ duel!

Both the Yankees and Astros went against type but it was the Yankees who managed to win the game on Monday with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth.

Carlos Beltran scored Brett Gardner with the only run of the game with no outs in the ninth as New York edged Houston to reclaim a share of first place in the American League East in front of a paid crowd of 37,125 in the Bronx, NY.

Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and Astros right-hander Scott Feldman matched each other pitch for pitch for eight innings until Astros manager A.J. Hinch elected to use left-hander and former New York Mets headcase Oliver Perez to pitch the ninth.

Gardner was able to work a leadoff walk and, after Perez uncorked a wild pitch to allow Gardner to reach second, the Astros decided to walk Alex Rodriguez intentionally so Perez could face left-handed hitting Brian McCann.

But Perez ended up also walking McCann to load the bases and Hinch called upon right-hander Chad Qualls to pitch to the switch-hitting Beltran.

Beltran jumped on the first pitch and he lofted the ball into deep center-field to score Gardner easily with the game-winning run.

Left-hander Andrew Miller (2-2) struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the victory in relief. Perez (2-2) was saddled with the loss.

Eovaldi, who entered the game undefeated in his past 11 starts and winner of eight straight decisions, held the Astros to just four hits and three walks and he struck seven in eight innings.

He also managed to kept the Astros 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. He was at his best in the seventh inning after Carlos Correa singled to open the frame and Colby Rasmus drew a walk.

Carlos Gomez laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners but Eovaldi got out of the jam on a fielder’s choice off the bat off Evan Gattis that retired Rasmus roaming too far off second and Luis Valbuena flied out to center.

Feldman, 32, held the Yankees to six hits and he struck out six without issuing a walk in eight innings.

The Yankees had an excellent opportunity to score in the second when Didi Gregorius and Stephen Drew opened the inning with singles. But Feldman retired Drew on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury, Gardner struck out swinging and Rodriguez flied out.

The Yankees also had a chance to score with McCann on third and Beltran on first with no outs in the seventh. However, Greg Bird struck out swinging and Chase Headley hit a fly ball to medium center and Gomez was able to throw out the slow-footed McCann at home plate on a three-hop heave for an inning-ending double play.

With the victory the Yankees improved their season record to 69-55 and they jumped into a tie with the Toronto Blue Jays for the top spot in the division. The first-place Astros dropped to 69-57.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

Eovaldi has come a long way in his development as a starter this season. In his past 12 starts, he is 8-0 with a 2.93 ERA. He used his slider to compliment his 100-mile-per-hour fastball, splitter and curveball to keep the Astros guessing all night. The Yankees very quietly are developing a strong, young rotation in 26-year-old Masahiro Tanaka, 26-year-old Michael Pineda (who will be activated form the disabled list on Wednesday), 25-year-old Eovaldi, 27-year-old Ivan Nova and 21-year-old Luis Severino.

McCann was 3-for-3 with a walk in the game and he is now 5-for-11 (.455) with his new forward-leaning stance. In addition, McCann also managed to throw out pinch-runner Jake Marisnick attempting to steal on a strike out of Valbuena in the ninth inning. McCann has now caught 22 of 55 base-runners stealing this season, which puts him at a career-best 40 percent. McCann credits bullpen coach Gary Tuck. “We work every single day on it,” McCann told reporters. “I’ve gotten better as the season’s gone on. It’s good to put the ball on the bag there.”

Beltran’s night began with him striking out looking in the second and bouncing into a double play in the fourth. But he singled to advance McCann to third before McCann was thrown out to end the seventh. But his at-bat in the ninth was classic Beltran. Though Qualls is noted as a ground-ball pitcher, he was able to get under his first offering and hit it deep enough to get Gardner home with the winning run.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Rodriguez was placed back into the lineup after two days off but he ended up 0-for-3 with a walk. He struck out in the sixth on a pitch that was about two feet outside and it nearly hit the dirt. Since Aug. 7, Rodriguez is 7-for-57 (.123) with two homers and six RBIs. That has dropped his season average from .281 to .259. As long as he slumps he is killing the Yankees offense.

Gardner and Ellsbury combined to go 0-for-7 with two strikeouts. If you add Rodriguez batting third they were a combined 0-for-10, which makes you wonder how Perez was able to walk Gardner and Rodriguez to begin the inning. The Yankees need their top three hitters to HIT! If they don’t, the team loses to last-place teams like the Cleveland Indians and surrenders first place in the A.L. East. It’s that simple.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees will not say it but I will: CC Sabathia has thrown his last pitch of the 2015 season and his career in real jeopardy. Sabathia, 35, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with inflammation in his right knee. Sabathia left Sunday’s game against the Indians with two out in the third inning due to pain in the knee, which was drained twice this season and received a cortisone shot last week. After making only eight starts last season, Sabathia underwent debridement surgery on the knee and was told that he would have to follow strict procedures to limit recurring pain. Sabathia, who is 4-9 with a 5.27 ERA in 24 starts this season, will see a specialist on Tuesday. But Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters, “Is it possible that he doesn’t pitch the rest of the year? It’s a possibility.” To replace Sabathia on the roster the Yankees announced that left-hander Chris Capuano had elected free agency and then signed a new Major-League contract with the team of the rest of the season. . . . Mark Teixeira, who has been nursing a deep bone bruise on his right leg, said on Tuesday that he was available to pinch-hit in Monday’s game. He was not used and Teixeira has now missed the team’s past six games with the injury. Girardi told reporters that he is hopeful Teixeira will be able to start Tuesday’s game.

ON DECK

The Yankees will continue their three-game home series with the Astros on Tuesday.

Nova (5-5, 3.72 ERA) will pitch for the Yankees. Nova is coming off a loss against the Indians on Thursday in which he was tagged for three runs on six hits and two walks while he struck four in five innings.

The Astros will start left-hander Dallas Keuchel (14-6, 2.37 ERA). Keuchel did not get a decision while giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts in seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.

In his first three Major-League starts right-hander Luis Severino received a total of two runs of support in the 17 innings he had pitched. Despite giving up a run in the first inning on Saturday, the 21-year-old rookie got five runs of support in the first two innings of the game.

He pretty much took control of things from there.

Severino pitched six solid innings to notch his first Major-League victory and Brett Gardner and Brian McCann both homered in the first inning as New York downed Cleveland on Jorge Posada Day with a paid crowd of 47,031 on hand at Yankee Stadium.

Severino (1-2) held the Indians to one run on just three hits with three walks and six strikeouts in a workmanlike 100-pitch outing.

The only run he gave up was when fellow rookie Francisco Lindor laced his eighth pitch of the game into the right-field porch for his sixth home run of the season to give the Indians an early 1-0 lead.

It did not last long, however, as Gardner lined right-hander Danny Salazar’s seventh pitch off the top of the right-field wall for his 12th home run of the season. It came with Jacoby Ellsbury on first on a single and it gave Severino a 2-1 lead that he never relinquished the rest of the afternoon.

One out later, McCann crushed a 0-1 fastball into the bleachers in right-center for his 22nd home run of the season.

The Yankees added a pair of runs in the second inning after Stephen Drew and John Ryan Murphy opened the frame with singles to put runners at first and third with no outs.

Salazar then botched a potential double-play ball off the bat of Ellsbury by throwing wide of second base for an error. Ellsbury got credit for an RBI and Murphy was safe at second. After Murphy advanced to third on a fly ball by Gardner, Carlos Beltran scored him on a sacrifice fly that made it 5-1.

After entering the game pitching at least seven innings in his previous seven starts with a 1.45 ERA in that span, Salazar (11-7) was charged with five runs on eight hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Severino got some help in keeping the Indians from mounting a comeback in both the third and sixth innings.

After Jason Kipnis drew a one-out walk and Lindor singled to advance him to third, Michael Brantley hit a hard one-hopper to rookie first baseman Greg Bird. Bird whirled and threw the ball high and wide to shortstop Didi Gregorius at second base.

Second base umpire Dan Iassogna ruled that Gregorius kept his foot on the base to retire Lindor. But, inexplicably, Kipnis elected to stay at third base on the play.

Indians manager Terry Francona asked Iassogna, the crew chief, to review the play using replay but the crew chose only to discuss it amongst themselves. Francona was ejected from the game by Iassogna during an ensuing argument.

In the sixth inning, Severino appeared to be wobbling as he approached the 100-pitch mark by issuing two-out walks to Lonnie Chisenhall and Abraham Almonte, However, he got out of the inning when Gregorius ranged to grab Roberto Perez’s ground ball and he retired Almonte at second base on a throw from the seat of his pants.

The Indians added a run in the eighth inning off right-hander Dellin Betances on a two-out bloop single by Chisenhall that scored Lindor, who led off the frame with a double.

The Yankees got that run back against right-hander Jeff Manship on a one-out double by Gregorius, a single by Drew and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Murphy.

The victory snapped a slight two-game skid and gave the Yankees a season record of 68-54. They remain a half-game ahead of the second-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. The Indians, who are in last place in the American League Central, dropped to 57-65.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

Severino actually pitched much better in his previous three starts than he did on Saturday. But run support is essential to his success. Fortunately, Severino got it and he still was able to keep the Indians from coming back despite the four walks he issued. He is 1-2 with a 2.74 ERA and manager Joe Girardi announced on Saturday that he will remain in the rotation for now.

In only the second game he used it, McCann was able to hit a home run with a new batting stance that puts a lot more weight on his front foot to prevent him from flying open too early with his right shoulder. It also was fitting on Jorge Posada Day that McCann (who was the designated hitter) and Murphy each got a hit and drove in a run.

Gardner’s homer was a product of the short porch in right-field, but it still counts and it was a bit overdue. That was Gardner’s first home run since July 28 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX. Gardner is batting .274 with 12 homers and 54 RBIs on the season.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

My only issue was the lineup Girardi chose to use against the Indians after they had lost the first two games of the series. With Mark Teixeira still nursing a sore right shin, he elected to bench Alex Rodriguez, which left Beltran hitting third, McCann fourth and the rookie Bird fifth. On Friday, Girardi benched both Ellsbury and Gregorius against a right-handed pitcher and the team lost. The Saturday moves did work but this resting philosophy with the Blue Jays breathing down the Yankees’ necks is just a bit silly.

Odd stat of the day: The Indians collected as many hits off Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller in the final two innings than they did against Severino in six. Linder doubled and Chisenhall singled off Betances in the eighth and Miller was touched by a leadoff single by Perez in the ninth. It is rare the “Twin Towers” give up any hits at all much less as many as the starter.

BOMBER BANTER

Right-hander Michael Pineda will come off the 15-day disabled list to start for the Yankees on Wednesday against the Houston Astros to push Masahiro Tanaka’s next start back to Friday, Girardi told reporters on Saturday. Pineda yielded one run on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings in his second rehab start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. He has been on the DL since July 30 with a right forearm flexor strain. Girardi said he had no plans to remove anyone in the rotation. So it appears the Yankees will use a six-man rotation in the final month. . . . Posada was honored before Saturday’s game by having his No. 20 officially retired and a plaque placed in Monument Park. Posada played for the Yankees for 17 seasons and hit .273 with 275 homers and 1,065 RBIs. He was part of five world championship teams and was a five-time All-Star. On Sunday, the Yankees similarly will honor one of his battery-mates, left-hander Andy Pettitte.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to split the four-game series against the Indians with a victory on Sunday.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.24 ERA) will go to the mound for the Yankees. Sabathia, 35, gave up four runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in a no-decision that the Yankees won against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

Right-hander Trevor Bauer (9-10, 4.62 ERA) will pitch for the Indians. Bauer, 24, was shelled for five runs on six hits and one walk in just 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. In his previous start on Aug. 13, he gave up six runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Yankees at Progressive Field.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

Just six days ago the Yankees raised eyebrows when they called up 22-year-old first baseman Greg Bird. After the performance he put on Wednesday in place of the injured Mark Teixeira it is now clear just why they called him up.

Bird not only hit one two-run blast for his first Major-League home run, the rookie added another two-run homer that proved to be the game-winner as New York completed a sweep of Minnesota in front of a paid crowd of 38,066 at Yankee Stadium.

With right-hander Nathan Eovaldi pitching a perfect game through five innings, Bird provided him with some early support by connecting in the fourth inning on a 0-1 change-up from right-hander Ervin Santana and launching it into the second deck of the right-field bleachers to score Carlos Beltran, who had singled, to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Eovaldi and the Yankees, it was not enough.

The Twins not only broke up the perfect game in the sixth inning. They also sent nine men to the plate and took the lead.

Chris Herrmann started the uprising with a one-out bloop single behind third base. Shane Robinson followed with a hard-hit single to left and Aaron Hicks advanced both base-runners on a groundout.

Eovaldi walked Brian Dozier to load the bases and Joe Mauer followed with a two-run single to right. Eovaldi then walked Miguel Sano to reload the bases and Trevor Plouffe scored Dozier on an infield roller between home plate and third base.

Santana was sailing despite giving up the two-run homer to Bird in the fourth. He held the Yankees to two runs on five hits and no walks with four strikeouts through 5 2/3 innings until he walked Beltran in the sixth inning.

That allowed Bird to come up to the plate. Santana threw him 1-0 fastball and Bird laced it on a high line drive into the Yankees bullpen in right-center to allow the Yankees to reclaim a 4-3 lead.

After Bird rounded the bases and headed into the dugout most of the Yankees fans were on their feet urging the rookie to take his first Yankee Stadium curtain call. After some fevered encouragement from his teammates, Bird came out to tip his cap to the crowd quickly.

“We’re just trying to win games here and anything I can do to help, that’s all I’m trying to do. Nothing more, nothing less,” Bird told reporters.

Eovaldi (13-2) ended up collecting his eighth victory in a row and he is undefeated his past 11 starts. He was charged with three runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Santana (2-4) pitched 7 2/3 innings but took the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

With the Yankees bullpen without the services of Andrew Miller after he pitched in two consecutive games, left-hander Chasen Shreve and right-hander Dellin Betances combined to preserve the victory for Eovaldi by each pitching one scoreless inning.

Betances threw perfect ninth and struck out two batters to earn his eighth save of the season in 11 chances. His two strikeouts gave him 101 on the season and he became the first Yankees relief pitcher to ever strike out 100 or more batters in two consecutive seasons.

With the three-game sweep the Yankees also completed the season series with the Twins at 5-1. Since 2002, the Yankees have a record of 69-27 against the Twins – a .281 winning percentage for the Twins. That percentage is the worst in baseball for any team against any opponent (minimum 50 games).

The Yankees also also have won six of their past seven games and they are now 67-52 this season. Coupled with the loss by the second-place Toronto Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies the Yankees have extended their lead in the American League East to two games.

The Twins fell to 59-61.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

I could tell when I saw Bird’s spring during the exhibition season that he was going to be something special. You can see why he has a combined minor-league average of .282 with 48 home runs in just over 1,200 at-bats. His swing is similar to former Blue Jays first baseman John Olerud and he might end up as a similar type of hitter. The question will be what do the Yankees do with Bird as long Teixeira is playing first base and Alex Rodriguez is the designated hitter?

Eovaldi was simply lights out for five innings and then he ran into a lot of bad luck. Only one of the four hits was hit hard. But he did make things worse by walking Dozier and Sano. Now that Eovaldi is succeeding with his split-finger fastball, he is becoming a very good pitcher. Despite the great run support he has received, Eovaldi has earned his 13 victories.

Betances stepped back into the closer’s role and did not miss a beat. If Betances had pitched better during spring training and early in the season, he would have likely been the closer. But you can’t argue with Miller’s 27 saves in 28 chances. Of the two I suspect teams fear Betances more. But they both are pretty devastating.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Rodriguez ended an 0-for-18 slide on Tuesday with a grand slam home run that proved to be the game-winning hit. But on Wednesday it was back into a funk for the DH. He was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. His season average has now dipped to .259.

John Ryan Murphy has been hitting well (.282) when he starts to give Brian McCann a rest. But Wednesday was not one of those days. He was 0-for-3 and struck out all three times.

BOMBER BANTER

Right-hander Michael Pineda will make a second rehab start on Friday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on Wednesday. Pineda, 26, has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 30 with a right forearm strain. He is 9-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 19 starts. Girardi said the he hopes this will be Pineda’s final rehab start and they would to activate him before Sept. 1.

ON DECK

The Yankees will play host to the Cleveland Indians for a four-game weekend series that begins on Thursday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (5-4, 3.57 ERA) will open the series for the Yankees. Nova defeated the Blue Jays on Friday, limiting them to three runs on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in seven innings.

Right-hander Josh Tomlin (0-1, 2.84 ERA) will be making only his second start of the season for the Indians coming off shoulder surgery. Tomlin yielded two runs on five hits with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings in a loss to the Twins on Saturday.

Game-time will be 7:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the YES Network.

Great Major-League players soar to amazing peaks and yet they also can sink to some really deep valleys. The valley Alex Rodriguez was in entering Tuesday’s game was approaching the width of the Grand Canyon, having not gotten a hit in 18 at-bats and riding a 3-for-39 slide until he came to the plate in the seventh inning.

All of that changed with one big swing.

Rodriguez laced a 1-0 fastball into the Yankees bullpen in right-center for his 25th career grand slam to lead New York to a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Minnesota in front of 38,007 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez’s 25th home run of the season and his first since his 40th birthday on July 27 came off right-hander T.J. Graham (0-1), who had inherited a bases-loaded, one-out jam from left-hander Ryan O’Rourke.

O’Rourke entered the seventh protecting a 4-1 Twins lead but Chase Headley led off with a pinch-hit single and Brendan Ryan drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. One out later, O’Rourke also walked Brett Gardner on a 3-2 pitch to set the stage for Rodriguez’s heroics.

Rodriguez already had passed former Yankee great Lou Gehrig for the most career grand slams with No. 24 on Sept. 20, 2013 against the San Francisco Giants. No. 25 put the Yankees in the lead for the first time since the fourth inning and received a fevered request for a curtain call from the crowd, which Rodriguez obliged.

The Yankees added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off Graham to pad their lead to four runs. Headley keyed the rally with a two-run double and Jacoby Ellsbury added an RBI single.

Rookie right-hander Nick Rumbelow (1-0), who was just called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day, allowed an RBI single in the seventh but completed the inning by striking out Aaron Hicks to earn his first Major-League victory.

Left-hander Andrew Miller pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out three to earn his 27th save in 28 chances this season.

The game began as a pitcher’s duel between Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia and Twins right-hander Mike Pelfrey.

Sabathia opened the game by throwing 4 1/3 innings of perfect baseball and he held a 1-0 lead after a one-out ground-rule double in the fourth off the bat of Carlos Beltran and the first Major-League RBI on a single by Greg Bird, who was in the lineup replacing an injured Mark Teixeira.

However, Sabathia allowed a one-out free pass to Trevor Plouffe in the fifth. One out later, Eduardo Escobar singled to right and Kurt Suzuki followed with a double down the left-field line that scored Plouffe.

However, Escobar was thrown out at the plate on a perfect relay from Garder in left to shortstop Didi Gregorius to catcher Brian McCann, who tagged Escobar for the final out of the inning.

The game remained tied until the top of the seventh when Sabathia issued a leadoff walk to Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano hit his next offering into the first row of the left-field bleachers for his ninth home run of the season and his third against the Yankees.

After Sabathia retired the next two batters, Escobar and Suzuki chased him from the contest with a pair of singles. Shane Robinson then greeted Rumbelow with an RBI single that extended the Twins’ lead to 4-1.

Sabathia, 35, was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks and he struck out five batters in 6 2/3 innings. Sabathia has not won a game since July 8 at home against the Oakland Athletics, a stretch of six starts.

Pelfrey, 31, was charged with one run on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

The Yankees have rebounded from a five-game losing streak to have posted five victories in their past six games. They are now 66-52 on the season and they have maintained their one-game lead in the American League East over the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.

The Twins have fallen under .500 to 59-60.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

Sabathia did pitch well but the Yankees never seem to score runs until after he leaves the game. It happened again on Tuesday. Though Sabathia is 4-9 with a 5.23 ERA, he has a 3.38 ERA in his past three starts. He also pitched deep into the seventh inning on a night the Yankees needed length from their starter after rookie right-hander Bryan Mitchell left Monday’s game with a nasal fracture in the second inning.

Rodriguez has always seemed to thrive on the big stage in the Bronx, NY, and he did again on Tuesday. It is not clear of his prolonged slump is over but he came up with a huge game-winning hit just when it was needed. With Teixeira nursing a bruised right shin the Yankees need Rodriguez to provide power and drive in runs. Though his season average has fallen to .261, he is second on the team in homers (25) and third in RBIs (67).

Headley came off the bench in the seventh and provided a single that began the four-run uprising in the inning and then he added a two-run double in the eighth to extend the lead to 7-4. Since the All-Star break, Headley os batting .327 with one home run and 20 RBIs. His clutch hitting has been overshadowed by McCann, Teixeira, Rodriguez and Beltran but he has been producing a lot under the radar.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Just as they did last night with right-hander Kyle Gibson, the Yankees allowed Pelfrey to lull their bats to sleep with a steady diet of breaking pitches. Fortunately for the Yankees, the Twins eventually have to use their bullpen and it is a powder keg just awaiting a spark. In the past two nights, the Yankees are 12-for-32 (.375) against Twins relievers and they scored 10 runs on them in seven innings.

BOMBER BANTER

The Yankees placed Mitchell, 24, on the seven-day concussion disabled list after he sustained a small nasal fracture on a line drive off the bat of Eduardo Nunez in the second inning of Monday’s 8-7 victory in 10 innings. In addition the Yankees also optioned right-hander Caleb Cotham, 27, to Scranton and recalled Rumbelow and selected the contract of left-hander Chris Capuano from the same club. Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Tuesday that it is possible that Mitchell could pitch in seven days depending how his recovery goes. . . . Teixeira, 35, was held out the lineup on Tuesday with a sore right leg after he fouled a pitch off himself in the sixth inning on Monday. Both X-rays and a CT scan indicate Teixeira has a deep shin bone bruise. But Girardi said it is unlikely to result in Teixeira being placed on the disabled list. Bird, 22, started in his place on Tuesday and was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

ON DECK

The Yankees can sweep the Twins in their three-game home series with a victory on Wednesday.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (12-2, 4.26 ERA) will start for the Yankees riding an eight-game winning streak. Eovaldi yielded four runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a victory against the Cleveland Indians on Thursday.

The Twins will counter with veteran right-hander Ervin Santana (2-3, 5.66 ERA). Santana, 32, was rocked for five runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings in a no-decision against the Texas Rangers on Friday.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by the YES Network.